Senses
by krizzlybear
Summary: When he tasted the poison, he smelt danger in the air. He couldn't feel his body, but could hear the grunts of battle. He didn't see what happened, but in his hospital bed the next day, he re-discovered his sense of self-worth in the eyes of his friends


Author's Note - Hey everyone! I'm posting this story directly from my summer job. I work in a cubicle downtown, and I have a sweet view of the streets below. My job allows some time to write, so here I am posting a nice little Shino-centric oneshot. Hope you all enjoy!

Also, I do not own the Naruto franchise or its characters. Yeah.

--

Shino tried to wiggle his big toe, but couldn't. For the first 22 hours in his hospital bed, all he could do was breathe and blink. When he had finally made some progress with his recovery some time afterwards, his improvement was limited to speaking and simply moving his head. At least now he could turn to look out the window, but without his sunglasses, his sensitive vision made him an unwelcome spectator of the sunny scenery outside of his room. With no other options, Shino was left to his own devices. All he could do now was wait.

He then turned to the clock that hung on the wall above the door exiting to the hallway. It was 4:15 in the afternoon, and in an exercise in futility, he kept his focus on the minute hand in an attempt to follow it as it slowly moved past each successive number on the timepiece in front of him. Shino failed miserably, as the long arm of the clock was barely halfway between the 3 and the 4 when he refused to subjugate himself to the utter boredom of such a test in patience. Had Rock Lee been his position, he probably would have promised himself to do a thousand push-ups once he had recovered, but Shino was different; he didn't take such trivial matters so seriously and merely scoffed at his own predicament of absolute vulnerability. This realization demoralized and exhausted him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

--

In his dream, Shino relived the events that resulted in his incapacitation. It was an information-gathering mission near Rain Country, to determine the whereabouts of a hidden Akatsuki base. He was teamed with his fellow Chunins, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and his respected leader, Kurenai Yuuhi. They stopped at a hot springs on the outskirts of the Rain Country, to not only recover from their travels, but to also look for possible leads in regards to the Akatsuki. The sun had recently lowered into the horizon, and team eight began to have their evening meal.

"I'll taste the food first to check if there's poison." Shino said.

The others were not surprised at this remark. Shino's destruction bugs, or kikai, were capable of purging poisons from their master's body. This was a gesture of selflessness on Shino's behalf, since his bugs weren't 100 percent effective in removing lethal toxins, but sometimes, it was also a sign of gluttony, since he would even offer to "test" his teammates' food on trivial occasions when they weren't on missions. It was one of Shino's subtle, yet likable quirks, and it gradually became a ritual during meals that had brought his team closer together over the years that they had been with each other.

"Hurry up, Shino! I'm starving, and so is Akamaru!"

Kiba stared defiantly at Shino, waiting for his teammate to go through the motions of stealing a bit of his meal. He was always impatient with Shino's gestures, but he would simply accept the circumstances because he was Shino's best friend. Akamaru, who was already almost the same size as Kiba, sat on the floor to the left of his master, drooling at the sight of various barbecued meats and fish fillets on the table. The dog had a carnal hunger, and was moments from letting his basic instincts take over.

Hinata smiled politely as she waited with respect for Shino to have a bite of her food. She looked up to him like a big brother, and as an inspiration to become a better kunoichi. He was always there for her when her confidence wavered, and always reminded her that she should strive to be more able to protect those she cared most about, particularly the blonde haired loudmouth who she had just recently seen for the first time in years.

Kurenai eyed the fried pork rolls with an unusually selfish intensity. She had a curious craving for pork that night, and as she realized this, she held her hand against her womb. She secretly spent the night with Asuma the night before her team departed the Leaf Village for their mission. It was one of many discreet encounters between the two, and somehow her most recent encounter left her with the strangest feeling. She did not think much about it at the time, but she decided to err on the side of caution and not have any sake that night. Besides, not only was she possibly carrying a child, but she preferred the taste of domestic brand sake back home, _Godaime's Choice_, a local beverage that was not served anywhere else. Regardless, she shifted her focus on Shino as he began to sample his own dish, which consisted of white rice, green vegetables and glazed chicken.

Shino swallowed a morsel of food that contained a bit of the 3 items on his plate. He paused for a moment to observe his bodily reactions as well as the reactions of the insects that lived inside him. At first, he felt no disturbance to his biological functions, yet after a few minutes, he noticed an increased restlessness of the kikai within. He took this as a sign of something ominous, and he attempted to inform his teammates of something amiss.

"Beware! Something is wrong wi-"

He couldn't muster the words to finish his sentence, as the muscles in his body stiffened, freezing him in his alerted pose. The insects scrambled furiously beneath his skin, trying to purge the poison from his blood vessels as it continued to spread throughout his body. To no avail, the kikai failed to purge the poison, as they were also affected by this unusual chemical composition. One by one, the kikai who intended to consume the substance fell ill to the paralyzing effects. Eventually, even the individuals who did not attempt to rid the toxins were affected, as the poison eventually covered Shino's entire circulatory system. Motionless, Shino failed to balance his center of gravity, and fell onto the floor, limp and unable to shift his view.

The only things that Shino could see from this point on were the legs of the chairs and table where his team sat. Fortunately, he did not lose his vital senses, and tried to visualize the scene above him based on the sounds he heard.

_Shino!_

_Shino-kun!_

_It was poison! Hinata! Attend to him! Kiba, protect Hinata!_

_Right!_

Hinata appeared by Shino's side, and rolled him over to examine his body. She carefully removed his glasses, and cautiously examined his pupils. She placed one side of her head on Shino's chest and listened to his lungs for passing air, but could only hear short, yet labored breaths.

_He's breathing, but barely! He needs to be tak-_

_Watch out Hinata!_

Shino heard a projectile rip through the air, and the clang of that projectile colliding with another. He felt thuds through the floor as they reached his back. He estimated maybe 10, or possibly 15 individuals suddenly enter their room. He could only hope that they were just goons, and that his team would settle the matter quickly.

As he predicted, they were no match at all against his team. He immediately heard a dogs growl, followed by a sharp snarl and an individual screaming in agony. Then came sounds of numerous blows landing, as well as the various chants of jutsus performed by his comrades. Shino felt 3 or 4 hard thuds through the floor.

_Byakugan!_

The following noises of impacts were softer, but each was followed by even groans of pain more intense than those caused by the dog. More thuds were felt through the floor, maybe another 4 or 5. That meant that only a few remained.

Shino heard sharp clapping noises, probably from someone forming seals, then heard Kurenai's voice.

_Ninja arts! Fire Prison Jutsu!_

There were cries of writhing agony.

_OH GOD! _

_IT BURNS! _

_MY SKIN IS MELTING!_

Shino did not feel any noticeable change in air temperature, and concluded that the remaining enemies were caught in a genjutsu. Hard steps pounded through the floor, and one individual dove across Shino's field of view, landing on the floor to the left of his range of vision. He saw through the corner of his eye the act of a man rolling across the floor, as if he had caught on fire. Then a vision of Kurenai's legs passed by him, one of them raising high up outside of his frame of sight and then reappearing on the poor victim's chest.

The sight of the man on the floor was his last, as his world began to darken. The lack of air from his labored breathing began to take its toll on his consciousness, and he soon blacked out. He could hear echoes from around him as soon as he felt as if he were fading away.

_Shino!_

He heard his name yelled many times, but at this point it was probably too late to acknowledge their cries.

--

"Shino, you loser! Quit napping!"

The voices saying his name became familiar to him.

"Sh-Shino-kun! Wake up! It's us!"

"Yes, Shino. We've come to visit."

Shino opened his eyes as he faced the lone window in the room. He was not discomforted, as it was already evening. He turned his head around and saw the faces of his friends. Shino smiled.

"Wipe that stupid grin, you idiot! You had us worried!"

_Arf!_

Shino's removed his smile momentarily as soon as he remembered he couldn't move his body. Hinata and Kurenai helped prop up his torso so that Shino was sitting straight up and at eye level with everyone else. Shino inwardly appreciated that, as he temporarily felt that he wasn't being looked down upon.

"I'm...sorry, everyone," Shino said quietly, "for worrying you all."

He was easily forgiven.

"Don't worry about it Shino." Kurenai said, running her hand through his hair. Shino's cheeks flushed slightly, such that only Kurenai noticed. She smiled. "All that matters is that we came out of that place alive."

They stayed in his room for the duration of the evening. Hinata rubbed some balm on his legs, trying to alleviate the bedsores that Shino would eventually be able to feel. Kiba told a few jokes about the goons that he beat up at the springs, and Kurenai gladly watched over her pupils as they spent some time together, time that they rarely had ever since they became Chunin. She waved her hands over her flattened stomach again, hoping that her child would be part of a special friendship as her students had.

The short arm of the clock was at the 2, and Akamaru's yawn signaled the visitors to leave Shino alone to rest. They said their goodbyes and left. Kiba was the last to leave, as he parted with some kind words to Shino.

"Yo Shino. The nurses here are totally hot. The one who was watching over you is even our age!" He started snickering like a dirty old man. "I told her that you single-handedly took down 15 people. She started getting all starry-eyed. You should totally ask her out in the morning!"

With those words he left. Shino was once again left alone to his own musings. _OK_, he said to himself. _Wiggle your big toe. _He couldn't. He smiled. He would have to wait a bit longer before he could leave the hospital. He closed his eyes.

Shino fell asleep, dreaming about cute nurses.


End file.
